I'm not an "expert" on collecting children's books -- just someone with a hobby.
This is a place for discussing older children's books, as well as sharing info and opinions on new books that might become collectable in the years ahead.

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Sunday Brunch, Punctuated by Gasps

Today’s Sunday brunch contains a Newbery mystery, a book ID request, and one of those long lists that everyone will probably scroll right past.

SABOTAGE!

It’s not often that a blog makes me gasp outloud.

But it happened yesterday when I read Fuse #8’s tribute to the recently deceased author Esther Hautzig. Born in Poland, but deported to Siberia with her family as a young girl, Ms. Hautzig eventually came to the United States, where she worked in publishing and became a professional writer. She wrote a number of well-received books, but is best known for her autobiographical work THE ENDLESS STEPPE, which related her childhood experiences in Siberia. This moving work was nominated for the National Book Award, was named a Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Book, received a Lewis Carroll Shelf Award and a Jane Addams Book Award, and was selected as a New York Times Outstanding Book of the Year. ...It won everything but the Newbery.

Or did it?

In her memorial, Fuse #8 links to a blog entry by M.B. Goffstein, in which Ms. Goffstein discusses her friendship with Esther Hautzig:

Ezra Jack Keats had told me a terrible secret: Esther's book The Endless Steppe won the 1969 Newbery Award.

The committee chair called her editor, Elizabeth Riley.

Miss Riley said Esther didn't write it.

Gasp!

Did Esther Hautzig’s own editor sabotage her chances of winning the Newbery? And why? You see, Ms. Hautzig didn’t just publish her book with Elizabeth Riley at Crowell publishing...she also worked for Miss Riley at Crowell publishing. What would motivate Ms. Riley to make this claim about THE ENDLESS STEPPE? Surely she knew that Esther Hautzig had written the book herself. Was Riley being petulant? Dishonest? What’s the story behind this story?

Today I heard back from Ms. Goffstein. She said that after posting her Esther Hautzig memorial, she'd received an e-mail from a highly-regarded children’s book editor. This editor said that it was not a case of THE ENDLESS STEPPE actually “winning” the Newbery and the award then being revoked before the public announcement; instead Ms. Riley had sabotaged the book before it could be selected...perhaps out of jealousy that one of her employees at Crowell was about to receive this high honor.

Fascinating.

Is there anyone out there with additional information on this incident? Or info on any other Newbery mysteries? (I keep hearing about an author who was told he’d won the award on Sunday night...and then his book wasn’t listed when the winners were announced on Monday morning.) I’d very much like to hear any of these stories. You can write me at Encyclopdiabro--...I mean, Newbery13@aol.com. Anonymity guaranteed.

ESTHER’S LEGACY

In addition to leaving us with a number of fine books (including A GIFT FOR MAMA, RICHES, and several others), Esther Hautzig also left a living legacy -- her daughter Deborah Hautzig, whose two hard-hitting young adult novels, HEY DOLLFACE! and SECOND STAR TO THE RIGHT (one of the first teen novel to tackle the subject of anorexia) are still read and loved by young readers.

BUT BACK TO M.B. GOFFSTEIN

When I wrote to Ms. Goffstein, I told her how much I enjoy her picture books, but added that I love her novels best of all. THE UNDERSIDE OF THE LEAF (1972) and DAISY SUMMERFIELD’S STYLE (1975) are both sensitive and perceptive character studies. The latter -- a kind of “portrait of an artist as a young woman” -- will appeal to anyone who has a creative spirit, whether their interest lies in art, writing, music, or some other pursuit.

These books deserve to be back in print!

Imagine my surprise when Ms. Goffstein wrote to say that Daisy Summerfield’s story is continued in a set of novels on her website which are free to download.

I could hardly believe that there were more stories about Daisy to read...one click away on the internet.

In fact, I gasped for the second time in two days.

I’m just sad that some publisher hasn’t bought these books and put them out in hardcover.

But I can’t wait to download them and read ‘em!

HERE WE GO AGAIN

These Sunday Brunch blogs have a reputation for containing big long lists of ephemera. Though a couple regular readers have told me they usually “scroll right past them,” I’ve noticed that people doing research on children’s book topics often visit the blog to consult these lists. Today’s list highlights authors who have been recognized more than once by the Newbery committee.

Quite a few people have been noticed at last twice, but can you name the six authors whose titles have been honored four times?

And can you name the two authors who have been regognized five times? Here is a hint: one of them remains one of the biggest names in children’s books even today; this person has five Newbery Honors. The other author is no longer very popular, despite having won received Newbery Medal and four Honor Books.

Christopher Paul Curtis has one winner (BUD, NOT BUDDY in 2000) and two Honors, THE WATSONS GO TO BIRMINGHAM -- 1963 (1996) and ELIJAH OF BUXTON (2008.)

Alice Dalgliesh had a trio of Newbery Honors: THE SILVER PENCIL (1945), THE BEARS ON HEMLOCK MOUNTAIN (1953) and THE COURAGE OF SARAH NOBLE (1955.)

Nancy Farmer has had three Newbery Honors -- so far. They are: THE EAR, THE EYE, AND THE ARM (1995), A GIRL NAMED DISASTER (1997), and THE HOUSE OF THE SCORPION (2003.)

Marguerite Henry won for KING OF THE WIND (1949) and had two Honors: JUSTIN MORGAN HAD A HORSE (1946) and MISTY OF CHINCOTEAGUE (1948.)

Agnes Hewes won three Newbery Honors for SPICE AND THE DEVIL’S CAVE (1931), GLORY OF THE SEAS (1934), and THE CODFISH MUSKET (1937.)

Clara Ingram Judson won three Honors for the biographies ABRAHAM LINCOLN, FRIEND OF THE PEOPLE (1951), THEODORE ROOSEVELT, FIGHTING PATRIOT (1954), AND MR. JUSTICE HOLMES (1957.)

E.L. Konigsburg has two winners (FROM THE MIXED-UP FILES OF MRS. BASIL E. FRANKWEILER (1968) and THE VIEW FROM SATURDAY (1997) and one Honor, JENNIFER, HECATE, MACBETH, WILLIAM MCKINLEY, AND ME, ELIZABETH (1968.)

Lois Lenski had one winner (STRAWBERRY GIRL, 1946) and two Honors (PHEBE FAIRCHILD, 1937 and INDIAN CAPTIVE, 1942.)

Eloise Jarvis McGraw had three Honors: MOCCASIN TRAIL (1953), THE GOLDEN GOBLET (1962) and THE MOORCHILD (1997.) The forty-four years between her first and last Honors represents the longest stretch of time between honored books in an author’s career.

Anne Parrish had three Honor Books: THE DREAM COACH (1925), FLOATING ISLAND (1931), and THE STORY OF APPLEBY CAPPLE (1951.)

Katherine Paterson won twice (BRIDGE TO TERABITHIA, 1978 and JACOB HAVE I LOVED, 1981) and also Honored for THE GREAT GILLY HOPKINS (1979.)

Gary Paulsen has a trio of Honors: DOGSONG (1986), HATCHET (1988), and THE WINTER ROOM (1990.)

Kate Seredy had one winner (THE WHITE STAG, 1938) and two Honors (THE GOOD MASTER, 1936, and THE SINGING TREE, 1940.)

Isaac Bashevis Singer had three Honors three-years-in-a-row: ZLATEH THE GOAT (1967), THE FEARSOME INN (1968), and WHEN SHLEMIEL WENT TO WARSAW (1969.)

Zilpha Keatley Snyder has three Honors for THE EGYPT GAME (1968), THE HEADLESS CUPID (1972), and THE WITCHES OF WORM (1973.)

Elizabeth George Speare had two winners (THE WITCH OF BLACKBIRD POND, 1958 and THE BRONZE BOW, 1959) and one Honor Book, THE SIGN OF THE BEAVER, 1984.

Jacqueline Woodson has had three Newbery Honors the past four years: SHOW WAY (2006), FEATHERS (2008), and AFTER TUPAC & D FOSTER (2009.)

FOUR TIMERS

Jeanette Eaton had four Newbery Honors: A DAUGHTER OF THE SEINE (1930), LEADER BY DESTINY (1939), LONE JOURNEY (1945), and GANDHI, FIGHTER WITHOUT A SWORD (1951.)

Eleanor Estes won for GINGER PYE (1952) and had three Honors: THE MIDDLE MOFFAT (1943), RUFUS M. (1944), and THE HUNDRED DRESSES (1945.)

Genevieve Foster won a quartet of Newbery Honors: GEORGE WASHINGTON’S WORLD (1942), ABRAHAM LINCOLN’S WORLD (1945), GEORGE WASHINGTON (1950), BIRTHDAYS OF FREEDOM, VOLUME 1 (1953.)

Russell Freedman has had one winner (LINCOLN, 1988) and three Honors: THE WRIGHT BROTHERS (1992), ELEANOR ROOSEVELT (1994), and THE VOICE THAT CHALLENGED A NATION (2005.)

Elizabeth Janet Gray won for ADAM OF THE ROAD (1943) and had three Honors: MEGGY MACINTOSH (1931), YOUNG WALTER SCOTT (1936), and PENN (1939.)

Virginia Hamilton also had one winner (M.C. HIGGINS THE GREAT and three Honors: THE PLANET OF JUNIOR BROWN (1972), SWEET WHISPERS, BROTHER RUSH (1983), and IN THE BEGINNING (1989.)

Scott O’Dell won for his first children’s books (ISLAND OF THE BLUE DOLPHINS, 1961) and subsequently had three Honors: THE KING’S FIFTH (1967), THE BLACK PEARL (1968) and SING DOWN THE MOON (1971.)

THE ONLY TWO WRITERS HONORED FIVE TIMES

Laura Ingalls Wilder had five Newbery Honors: ON THE BANKS OF PLUM CREEK (1938), BY THE SHORES OF SILVER LAKE (1940), THE LONG WINTER (1941), LITTLE TOWN ON THE PRAIRIE (1942), and THESE HAPPY GOLDEN YEARS (1944.)

Meindert DeJong has been cited five times, with one winner (THE WHEEL ON THE SCHOOL, 1955) and the following Honors: SHADRACH (1954), HURRY HOME, CANDY (1954), THE HOUSE OF SIXTY FATHERS (1957) and ALONG CAME A DOG (1959.)

OH GREAT, ANOTHER LIST!

While we’re on the subject, why not a list of all the authors who have won the Newbery Medal, yet never received any other recognition from the committee -- no other winners, not even any Honor Books -- for the rest of their career:

...so, 39 out of the 87 -- or almost half -- of the winning books have gone to authors who never before or after received any Newbery recognition.

Of course these numbers may be skewed by the fact that several recent winners are still writing and will likely win or receive Honors in the future.

But what do we make of the earlier authors on this list? Did they really write one great book that stood far above anything else they’d written? Or were they so-so writers who “by the luck of the draw” had a so-so book chosen by the committee?

Considering the overall high quality of their work, I’m surprised that Sid Fleischman, Betsy Byars, Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, Mildred Taylor and Patricia Maclachlan didn’t (or haven’t yet) picked up at least one or two more Newbery Honors during their writing careers.

BOOK ID HELP

Someone came across my blog this week while seeking a book. Here’s what she said:

A friend had a favorite book I would like to find. It was set during World War II. A family with children live in the country and have a Victory Cow. There is a school assembly where one boy must recite the Gettysburg Address. He has practiced while milking the cow. To help him remember during the performance his sister ties a rope to his belt so that he can make milking motions behind his back and keep the rhythm. I know those are odd recollections but they are the ones that stuck in her mind. She was born in 1944 and this sounds like a grade school level book....

Unfortunately, I was unable to identify this book. Does it ring a bell for anyone else? If it does, please let me know and I’ll pass it on to the person who asked. (Heck, I might track down the book and read it myself. It sounds fun, doesn’t it?)

TWINKLE, REVISITED

A couple months back I blogged about a cartoon character from the old HUMPTY DUMPTY magazine. His name was “Twinkle, the Star Who Came Down from Heaven” and I recalled him looking like this:

I even mentioned that I remembered this star walking on his bottom two “points” as if they were feet. Well, Miapappa had also recently remembered Twinkle and began doing some research. She found an image from a 1967 HUMPTY DUMPTY magazine:

Now I see that Twinkle actually just had a star for a head; otherwise he seemed to have a human body. I was surprised to learn Twinkle was still running in 1967; I remember it from the early sixties, before I even started school.

REMAINDER REMINDER

Last Saturday was Halloween. One week later I got in the car on Saturday and Christmas music was playing on the radio. We have a couple stations in town that go to an all-Christmas format starting November 1. As much as I love Christmas carols, I think it’s a bit much to listen to “Come All Ye Faithful” while you’re still picking candy corn out of your teeth.

But the Christmas music reminded me that this is the time of year when remaindered book stores open up all around town. One day you’ll pass an empty superstore and the next day it’s full of books with a yellow banner over the door announcing “DISCOUNT BOOKS.”

These stores, which sell overstocks, out of print, and damaged volumes are great for browsing -- and with prices usually at least half off the cover price -- you can get some great deals.

I’ve never had much luck when it comes to finding collectable children’s books, although I have heard of some bookdealers who have made some great finds at such stores. My own experience is that the children’s tables are usually filled with stuff that was second-rate to begin with (Sesame Street volumes, puzzle books) as well as novelty items (i.e. the kind of books that come packaged with soap bubble kits or ink stamps.) I’ve had better luck finding good young adult fiction mixed in with the adult books; a couple weeks ago I went to local “discount bookstore” and found a first edition of DREAMHUNTER by Elizabeth Knox, the first volume in the two-book series that included one of last year’s Printz Honor Books, DREAMQUAKE.

Most remaindered books have a black marker line on the bottom edge of the pages. This prevents people from taking the books back to a regular bookstore and trying to get a full refund. Some collectors have a disdain for remaindered books, but if the only thing wrong with a book is a mark on the bottom edge of the pages, I am not bothered.

Who even LOOKS at the bottom edge of a book’s pages?

SPEAKING OF CHRISTMAS

On Friday I visited the bookstore. The owners are friends of mine and often set things aside for me to look at. This week it was this book:

1001 CHILDREN’S BOOKS TO READ BEFORE YOU GROW by Julia Eccleshare is a massive (960 pages) paperback compendium of book information. Originally published in Great Britain, the selection of titles does skew a little toward the British, but there are many American books included as well. I glanced through the well-designed volume, but the $36.95 price tag (for a paperback!) put me off. On the one hand, it’s the kind of reference book that every children’s lit afficionado should probably own. On the other hand, $36.95 is a bit pricey. I decided I’d put the book on my Christmas list.

This morning I was talking on the phone to my friend from the bookstore and she asked what I thought of 1001 CHILDREN’S BOOKS.... I told her I really liked it and might put it on my holiday list. She said, “Oh, I actually set the book aside as your belated birthday present. It’s not wrapped, but I want to give it to you.”

19 comments:

It's funny that you just posted that list of multiply honored authors, because I was just going to write and ask if you had any information on the reaction when EL Konigsburg got both an honor and the winner. I don't think people would like it, today. And I think there'd be a lot of conversation beforehand about which was the better book, and how most likely having two of her books in would "split the vote" and neither would wind up with a medal. And then when the announcement was made and they read off the honor for Jennifer, Hecate there'd be a lot of gasps that that was chosen instead of Mixed-Up Files. And THEN--well, I can't even imagine.

So what's the real story?

(I generally relish the lists, by the way.)

Oh, and IMHO Carol Ryrie Brink wasn't honored for her best work, which was Family Sabbatical. And I note that several of those people didn't write primarily for children, or at least that's my impression.

Why not try this children's book? The Green Bronze Mirror by Lynne ellison

Karen is playing on the beach when she finds an ancient mirror buried in the sand. She looks into it, and is transported back in time to the Roman empire. Finding herself a slave, she faces many hair-raising adventures in her struggle to return to her own time.

This Long-lost work of young adult Roman fantasy/ historical fiction, first published in 1966 and since out of print, has been reprinted in a new paperback edition with BRAND-NEW illustrations by Philip Smiley. The book is NOW available from http://www.cnposnerbooks.co.uk also from Ebay and Amazon.

>>You see, Ms. Hautzig didn’t just publish her book with Elizabeth Riley at Crowell publishing...<<

Wait. I'm confused. Wasn't THE ENDLESS STEPPE published by Penguin, not Crowell?

I was working on an interpretation of this situation in which the Newbery committee was given this information by someone who was NOT EH's publisher for ENDLESS STEPPE, but her boss in her other-job life at Crowell.

Sam - I've searched the three Humpty Dumpty magazines that I have, and there doesn't seem to be a cartoonist's name listed. In the table of contents, one lists Elinor Harris and two list Jay Williams, but I'm assuming that they're being credited for the stories and not the artwork.

THE ENDLESS STEPPE was originally published by Crowell in 1968. Penguin did one of the paperback reprints years later. So Elizabeth Riley had both edited the book at Crowell, plus was Ms. Hautzig's supervisor at her 9-to-5 job at Crowell as well. By claiming that Hautzig had not actually written the book, Riley was cutting off her nose to spite her face -- depriving a Crowell book she'd edited from winning the award. Strange, huh?

I second the comments on Family Sabbatical- it is a well loved book in our house (althought Caddie Woodlawn was good too). What a sad story re Hautzig's award/non-award. Thanks for following up on what Betsy posted.Chris in NY

I don't know whether the allegations against Elizabeth Riley are true or not, but it concerns me that these rumors are now being spread around when she is not here to defend herself. Are these facts or could Ms. Goffstein have an agenda, perhaps being disgruntled about not being hired to reillustrate the Betsy-Tacy books? See, it is easy to speculate about someone's motives - now I am doing it. Can't we honor Esther Hautzig's memory without destroying someone else's reputation?

Anonymous, you're speculating "about someone's motives" behind the cloak of anonymity. (It seems to be easier when we hide, but you and I both know that that's not really the case.)

Truth is stronger than reputation.

Peter, I found the post fascinating and full of insight. Thank you. I came to Esther Hautzig's work late in life, but I find she has changed my view of the world. Her courage -- and the strength with which her family faced their misfortunes -- will stay with me forever.

Peter, I discovered your blog some weeks ago and started making my way through it; I am quite enchanted! I do collect old children's books but can only afford garage sale or thrift prices, so not too upmarket here! I am going to bare my heart and ask if you've ever read two of my childhood (at least, I was 15) favourites: 1: O, The Brave Music, by Dorothy Evelyn Smith. I'm not sure it was really written for youth, as it's written very maturely and hauntingly (best word I could think of, no haunting involved!) but it was about a childhood and I was 15 when I was changed forever by it! 2. Bright Candles, by Nathaniel Benchley.

I did search and didn't find them mentioned on your blog, not that they should have been, just saying I did some homework first ;)

Specifically to Natalia: I do not know O, THE BRAVE MUSIC, but will track down a copy. I did read BRIGHT CANDLES as a kid and remember liking it; I need to re-read that one. Incidentally, MY favorite book -- DINKY HOCKER SHOOTS SMACK! -- features a character named Natalia!

Miss Yingling: I think the pace of Meindert DeJong's books may be too slow for today's kids. That's a shame because they truly are great books.

About Me

I've been involved with children's books most of my life, from my earliest days working in the grade school library to my current job cataloging children's books for a university. I've published young adult fiction, as well as thousands of book reviews, and have contributed articles and essays to a number of magazines and reference volumes dealing with the topic of children's books. To see the books in my collection, please visit librarything.com/catalog/Psierut
and click on "author" to get an alphabetical-by-author view. I can be reached at Newbery13@aol.com